


Safe Haven

by StarReads



Series: V3 Summer Shenanigans! [1]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Angst, DICE Headcannons folks, Did I say Light Angst When I mentioned this?, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I love my v3 boys, I really like the idea of Maki and Ouma being childhood friends, I'm not good at tagging, Implied Harumota, It's Ouma not Oma heathens, Kaito is an Orphan but he's low-key about it, Kaito is an idiot, Maki is only mentioned, Non-Despair V3 AU, Oops it's lots of angst, Ouma lives on the streets, Ouma with reccuring nightmares, Oumota if you squint, Rated T for some cursing, TW:Implied Child Abuse/Abandonment, dice - Freeform, everyone is good friends, no beta we die like men, yes please!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 12:18:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15908124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarReads/pseuds/StarReads
Summary: Ouma knew these streets like the back of his hands. He's spent too many days wandering them in search of food not too.He's not sure if he wanted it to stay that way.In which Ouma returns home the summer before his second year at Hopes Peak. Going back to sleeping on the streets is tougher than it was supposed to be.





	Safe Haven

**Author's Note:**

> So like, the angst is pretty heavy. This was waaaay heavier than it was supposed to be. The next part of this series (yes it's a series now) is gonna feature Maki and it's probably gonna be even heavier.
> 
> So, guys, this has some implied child abuse and a little bit of a mention of death so if that makes you uncomfy this isn't the fic for you. 
> 
> I really enjoyed writing something a little more serious. It's a nice change of pace from my normal, happy go lucky fics. 
> 
> The title is maybe slightly misleading till you get to the end.
> 
> UPDATE (9/19/18): Did some light editing, since I cringed hardcore re-reading this.

His clothes stuck to his back, heat rising around him. His shoes felt uncomfortable already, the humid, wet heat almost unbearable.

Ouma Kokichi, the SHSL Supreme Leader was back home. The school year at Hopes Peak Academy has concluded. He had survived the first year of high school, survived the looks and the whispers. He'd done it. It was challenging, but he managed to carve a place for himself there. He had friends, or at least, he hoped they were his friends.

Now came the hardest part about being a high school student. The summer. Unlike public schools, Hope's Peak only had a month-long summer. One month of sunshine and heat. For the other students, it was a well-deserved break.

For Ouma, it was hell.

He walked down the familiar streets of the city, people moving fast. Groups of public school students giggling and gossiping. Everyone enjoying their summer, complaining about the heat, longing for the beach. The crowds of people all making noises at once had long since stopped bothering Oumas ears. He had learned to tune them out, to move seamlessly through the crowded streets, to go unnoticed by the general public. It was second nature to Ouma, to blend into the shadows, to hide his own existence in mere seconds.

  
Ouma rounded the corner into a familiar old alleyway. A lump formed in Ouma's throat. As he looked around, memories flooded his mind.

 

A small, thin 7-year-old boy stealing food from trash cans outside a grocery store. He's caught, and he flees carrying a stale piece of bread and a withered apple. He hides behind a dumpster and eats fast, stomach lurching at the awful taste. And yet he gobbles it down greedily, too hungry to care.

A sweet four-year-old girl and her ten-year-old brother sharing a blanket with a cold, tired seven-year-old. The three of them talk for hours, introducing each other.

Fast forward and the 7-year-old is now 11. He commands a group of runaways and orphans, a hungry and cold group of 10 kids plus the ll-year old. They call themselves DICE, and they spend all their days stealing whatever food they can find, playing pranks and trying to make the most of a tough situation.

The accident, the young girl who shared that blanket on that one cold night goes away, her brother having died for the group to stay alive. The 11-year old now 13 cries.

Middle school, the judging eyes, the uniform that doesn't fit quite right. The little black haired girl he sat next too in math. How she was cold and broken, just like him. Her parents gone, just like him. How he lied to her, told her his parents died in a car crash. Lied to her and said he lived with his aunt. Dodged her questions about where he lived, hid everything behind a shy smile and pranks.

Getting accepted into Hope's Peak together. How behind that careful mask, he could see her eyes light up. Smiling, even though the idea of traveling so far from his little family terrified him.

DICE encouraging him to go, smiling at their leader. Telling him he deserved to follow his dreams. Encouraging him in that way that only they could manage.

Leaving for Hope's peak. Smiling and waving, all his things fitting in a single backpack. Sleeping in his own room, on a bed for the first time in forever. Waking up from the same nightmares of yelling parents and shattering glass.

Introducing himself with fake confidence. Teasing all the members of his class. Watching as the black haired girl catches the eye of the stupid astronaut. Teasing her for months, to the point where he gets glared at for even mentioning him.

Letting the class get close to him, but never quite letting them really see his true feelings. Making friends, feeling at home.

Getting the letter. Spending a day locked in his dorm. Wondering why. Why the police had taken his family to jail for simple graffiti. Wondering what they had really done to deserve all this. Cursing Hopes Peak for getting him off scott free. Missing his family.

And now he was back. Back to their little hideaway, back to the place he had once called home. He plopped down on the old air mattress they'd dug up somehow.

He hadn't even realized he'd started crying until his whole body was wracked with sobs and he could barely breathe. He was clinging to himself, arms wrapped tight around his body. He missed his family. He missed his friends at Hopes Peak. He just wanted to wake up and have everything be a bad dream.

  
He fell asleep like that, curled inwards on himself, clothes stained with tears.

  
~___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________~

  
Momota Kaito, the SHSL Astronaut, was on his way home. He'd gone up to the local grocery store to get baking supplies for his dear old grandmother.

He dodged a group of joggers, inwardly cursing at them. Couldn't they practice in a safer place? They could knock someone over like this.

He was almost home when he passed the alleyway. He stopped almost immediately when he heard it. Thrashing, whimpering. He was sure he could hear someone crying. His heart practically leaped out of his throat. He was scared, as cowardly as that sounded.

Still, if someone was hurt it was his responsibility to get them help. He entered the alleyway cautiously.

  
He was not prepared for what he saw.

  
That frankly annoying boy named Ouma. The one who lied so much it was impossible to tell if he was telling the truth. The boy who could even be rude to Gonta, as crazy as that sounded, was crying and thrashing as if he was fighting off an attacker. It was clear he was having some sort of horrible nightmare.

Kaito half ran over to him, mind racing. Why was Ouma sleeping in an alley anyway? As he looked around, he noticed the way it was set up. Ouma had set his things on a box. There were a couple mattresses and blankets. There was even an oil lantern of all things set up in the corner.

Did Ouma live here?

Suddenly, the poor conditions of his clothes, the bad manners, and the avoidance of talking about his personal life made sense. Ouma was homeless. He was probably an orphan too.

Kaito felt a bubble of guilt in his chest, the unnerving wrongness of the whole situation became apparent. It didn't make sense to him. Why on Earth would Ouma want to hide something like this? It wasn't anything to be ashamed of. Surely one of them could've let him stay with them this summer. Especially considering sleeping in heat like this was extremely dangerous. What if he had had a heat stroke?

Kaito reached out and picked up the frail boy. Holding him, it was painfully obvious how thin he was. He remembered vaguely watching him eat as if he'd never see another meal again. It made sense now. The poor guy never knew when he would get his next meal. It almost made Kaito want to cry.

Keyword: Almost.

Kaito is a manly man. He's a tough guy, a true hero. He definitely did not get all mushy-eyed and soft for the little gremlin. He definitely did not have to blink back tears from his totally manly eyes.

He slung the boy over his shoulder, grabbing both his things and Ouma's. He sighed slightly with relief upon realizing Ouma had stopped thrashing. He could still hear the smaller boy whimper in his sleep, but he could address that later. He started walking back to his house. He could feel the looks of the people they passed by. He supposed the sight of a teenage boy who looked like a grown man carrying a crying teenage boy who looked like a child was a bit off. Hopefully, he didn't get stopped by the police. That'd be embarrassing trying to explain that he was in fact not kidnapping a small child.

Finally, he made it back to the quiet street where his grandma and grandpa lived. He knew the street very well. Everyone here knew each other by name. He'd grown up here his whole life after all.

His mom had died when he was about 2 or 3. He can't remember very much about her, which makes him a little sad. Still, he was grateful to have two of the best grandparents in the entire world.

As he walked towards his house, he was stopped by Mr. W. Mr. W's real last name was long and foreign, so everyone just called him Mr. W. Usually it would be W-san or something of that nature, but he insisted on using the English version. He was from England after all. Mr. W ran a floral shop, and Kaito used to water plants for him when he was younger.

"Son, whose the boy?" He asked. Kaito froze, realizing he wasn't exactly sure what to say. 'Oh, this is a friend I found sleeping in an alleyway. So y'know, I just found out he's homeless and probably doesn't have a family. But yeah, we're pretty tight' just doesn't sound right. After a moment, he answered. "Oh, him? He's a friend. He's..staying with us for awhile. The stupid boy fell asleep waiting for me." He said. He felt a pang in his chest for lying, but it quickly dissapated. Waving goodbye, he walked home.

His grandma was watching the news with his grandpa. The two of them were watching the news. "Hey Grandma, are there sheets on the guest bed?" He asked, closing the door behind him. His grandma looked away from the TV. Her answer died on her lips as she took in the sight before her.

She immediately stood up and walked over. Her face was concerned. "Is this one of your friends? What happened to him? The boy looks so thin!" She said, beginning to fret. "It's a long story. I just want to get him in a bed." Kaito answered her. His grandma nodded, taking the things out of Kaito's hands. "There are sheets on the guest bed. Get him settled in." She said immediately.

  
Kaito carried Ouma to the guest room. He put the small boy down on the bed and then left the room for a second. He came back with Ouma's things and a glass of water. Sitting in the corner of the room, next to the window, he pulled out his phone and started to scroll through social media, waiting for Ouma to wake up.

  
~_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________~

  
Ouma woke up slowly. He could already feel how gross his eyes were and cursed inwardly. He hated crying, absolutely hated waking up looking like he'd been informed someone he loved was dead. Although, perhaps that would be the case somedays. He was never sure what nightmare he'd have when he closed his eyes at night.

He moved slightly, suprised when he felt soft linen brush against his bare hand. That was strange, he was sure he'd fallen asleep in the alleyway.

He sat up slowly, wincing slightly at a cramp in his back. That's when he noticed that he was definitely not in the alleyway. Looking around, he quickly spotted Kaito in the corner. Kaito was staring at him with a gutwrenching amount of concern in his eyes.

"Uh, space cadet? Earth to Kaito? Where the hell am I?" He said, trying to hide the anxiety in his voice. There was only one reasonable explanation for how he got from the alley to here, and it was one he definitely didn't like. How was he going to explain this?

Kaito spoke for the first time, his voice surprisingly quiet for the normally obnoxious astronaut. "Ouma. I don't know how you ended up on the streets, but it's not important right now. What is important is that you understand how dangerous that is. What if you'd gotten hurt?" He said firmly. Ouma could feel his heart tie into knots. Bile was building in the back of his throat, and his eyes were welling up. "What do you want me to say you, idiot?" He said, voice shaking.

  
Kaito paused. "Nothing. You don't have to explain how you ended up being homeless, how long you've lived like that, nothing. What I'm saying is that it's ok. It's ok to ask for help if you need it. You could've asked any of us if you could stay with us during the summer. I'm sure all of us would've said yes." He said. Ouma's lip quivered, as he fought to keep his cheeks dry. He couldn't bawl in front of Kaito. That'd just make the whole situation even worse.

Kaito moved and sat next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Look. I talked to Grandma, and you can stay here as long as you need too. I've got some old clothes that'll do until we can get you something of your own. Neither of us mind. But if you're not comfortable with it, I'm sure there's somewhere we could take you too. But you absolutely can't go back to the streets, I won't allow it." He said.

Ouma started crying. He really didn't understand why Kaito was being so nice to him. He was a shitty friend, and a shitty human being.

Kaito flinched as he saw him start crying, before awkwardly hugging him. "Hey man, it's uh..gonna be ok. You're safe here. Stop..stop crying please?" He said, awkwardly.

Ouma hugged back, probably for the first time ever. Ouma normally didn't hug people sincerely. He would hug people to just joke around, but sincere hugs were pretty rare.

Kaito shifted. "So, uh, is that an 'I'm ok with staying here'?" He asked. Ouma barely managed to nod weakly, too sad and tired to speak.

Kaito smiled slightly. "Well, welcome to the Momota residence! Oh, and warning, when you leave this room my grandma is going to bombard you with food. And lots of it. Hope you have an appetite." He said, trying to lighten up the mood.

Ouma wiped his eyes quietly. Food did sound good.

"I could eat." He said, quietly. Kaito smiled. "Well c'mon then Ouma, let's get you something to eat. Oh, but first, a change of clothes and a shower. We definitely need to wash those." He said, wrinkling his nose.

"Way to ruin our bonding moment." Ouma joked, rolling his eyes. Kaito groaned. "And you're right back to normal. I'll get you a towel, you nasty." He said, standing up.

As he left, Ouma smiled softly. Maybe staying here won't be so bad after all.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this! The next part should be out in the next couple of days yell at me if it's not.


End file.
